Spirit Fall in OT to Firebirds, 6-5, on Saturday
OHL Saginaw Spirit

Spirit Fall in OT to Firebirds, 6-5, on Saturday

Published on September 20, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Saginaw Spirit News Release


Flint Firebirds' Bryson Morgan battles Saginaw Spirit's Ryan Hanrahan
Flint Firebirds' Bryson Morgan battles Saginaw Spirit's Ryan Hanrahan
(Saginaw Spirit, Credit: Eric Young)

Saginaw, Mich. - The Spirit took on the Firebirds at the home opener for the 2025 - 2026 season. The Spirit fought hard, scoring four goals in the first period, where Brody Pepoy scored his first OHL goal. Jermey Martin scored a hat trick for the Firebirds, and Chase Hull scored his first and second goals in the OHL. Dima Zhilkin scored his third of the season late in the third to send it to overtime, where the Firebirds took the win with 13 seconds left in OT.

Saginaw wasted no time in the home opener when Egor Barabanov scored 57 seconds into the first on a two-on-one break. Dima Zhilkin floated a saucer pass across the slot to pick up his fourth point of the season (2G-2A), and James Guo picked up the secondary assist in two games.

The Spirit continued the pressure, scoring 39 seconds later when Ryan Hanrahan slipped down the right boards and threw a perfect backhand pass in front to give Brody Pepoy his first OHL goal at 1:36.

Liam Storch scored Saginaw's third unanswered goal after picking up a loose puck a the top of the left circle and ripping one past Firebirds goaltender Mason Vaccari 5:12 into the first for a 3-0 lead.

The Firebirds responded on the power play when Matthew Wang scored backhanded after he found a loose puck in the slot. Christopher Thibodeau and Bryson Morgan picked up assists as the score drew to 3-1.

Barabanov fought through the Firebirds' defense as he squeaked by the left side boards to find defenseman Grayden Jones all alone in the slot later in the period. Jones' shot got past Vaccari for his first of the season and a 4-1 Saginaw lead at 6:38.

The Firebirds responded when Chase Hull scored his first in the OHL unassisted on the power play. Hull chipped in a loose puck in the crease at 17:38, which cut the Spirits' lead to two.

With seven seconds left in the first, the Firebirds scored the seventh goal of the period after Jeremy Martin tipped in a pass from Luka Graziano on the goal line. Matthew Wang picked up his second point of the period on the secondary assist.

After 1: SAG 4 - 3 FLNT (Total Shots: 14 - 13)

Kaleb Papineau was put in goal to start the second for Saginaw after Stepan Shurygin made 10 saves on 13 shots.

Jeremy Martin tied the game 6:06 into the second when his centering pass took a bounce in favor of the Firebirds, which gave him his second goal of the night. Matthew Wang picked up his third point of the game with the primary assist, and Zack Bleick earned his first point in the OHL with a secondary assist.

After 2: SAG 4 - 4 FLNT (2nd period shots: 12 - 8 Total shots: 26 - 21)

9:29 into the third period, Jeremy Martin tipped in a right circle shot from Dryden Allen to complete the hat trick on the power play for the Firebirds. Charlie Murata got the secondary assist, and the Firebirds took the lead 5-4 with 11:31 left in the third.

At 12:09, Dima Zhilkin tipped in Graydon Jones' shot from the top of the left circle to tie the game at 5-5. Zhilkin earned his 5th point of the season (3G-2A), Graydon Jones got his first multi-point game of the season, and Nikita Klepov got his first assist on the equalizer.

After 3: SAG 5 - 5 FLNT (3rd period shots 20 - 14 Total shots 46 - 35)

Still tied after regulation, the Spirit and the Firebirds headed into overtime, where Chase Hull scored the game-winner on a 2-on-1 break.

Final Score: SAG 5 - 6 FLNT (OT shots 2 - 1 Total shots: 48 - 36)

Powerplays: SAG 0/7 FLNT 2/5

Goaltenders: SAG Stepan Shurygin (10 saves, 13 shots), Kaleb Papineau (20 saves, 23 shots), FLNT Mason Vaccari (43 saves, 48 shots)

Saginaw plays their next game at home against the Niagara IceDogs on Friday, September 26th. Puck drop is at 7:05 at the Dow Event Center.

Check out the Saginaw Spirit Statistics

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Images from this story

Flint Firebirds' Bryson Morgan battles Saginaw Spirit's Ryan Hanrahan
Flint Firebirds' Bryson Morgan battles Saginaw Spirit's Ryan Hanrahan
(Eric Young)		   



Ontario Hockey League Stories from September 20, 2025


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